Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1957)

The reaction to ‘Sonny Boy’ was enormous. For the first time, people accepted me as Jerry Lewis, not just a nut.” Where will Jerry’s drive take him next? “I’ll entertain people as long as they want to be entertained by me,” he said. “I’ll do it any way, in any medium. But I’m also interested in fields behind the camera. I want to direct; there’s a big kick in getting the best out of people’s talents. And I want to write; I have a tremendous regard for writers.” Anyone who has worked with Jerry knows he has a high sensitivity to criticism. He subscribes to four clipping services and broods over every adverse comment. Especially hurt by one of the New York critics who knocked his Palace debut, Jerry fretted for days and finally wrote the man a letter urging him to return for another performance. The writer did. Next day he confessed Jerry was right about the paralyzing first-night audience. When the “Sonny Boy” number was called a “grievous error,” he was unhappy. But when another critic rapped Gary, Jerry exploded. He threatened all kinds of reprisals until he was restrained by Patti. Patti has a drawer that contains greeting cards and pamphlets for every possible occasion. When Jerry gets steamed up about some critical barb, she brings out a tract by Norman Vincent Peale. Its message: You have to be somebody before people will criticize you. So forget the criticism and just be grateful you’re not a nobody. Adds Jerry: “That’s the trouble with that woman. She’s always so right!” It’s not only the written criticism that bothers Jerry. He can’t stand the backbiting and phony sophistication of Hollywood. He and Patti were once active in the filmtown social life, but they have gradually dropped out. “We just don’t like to sit around and hear people knocking everyone in town,” he says. “If we feel like talking about babies or religion, we want to talk about them. But the Hollywood people don’t like this. So Patti and I just stay home. We have our own fun. Like the other night when we sat in bed watching television and splitting a watermelon between us.” Jerry feels so strongly about the destructive aspects of Hollywood life that he plans to move his family to Connecticut and return to California only to make pictures. All this makes you wonder if finding success all by himself has really made him happy. I asked him. “Am I happy? The answer is yes — as happy as I could possibly be. You don’t realize what it is like to be able to make people laugh, to put smiles on the faces of cripples, to hear a warm ‘hello’ from a total stranger, to know that an audience loves you. “Just today I made an appearance for six hundred women at a charity luncheon. I had to make my way through the tables to the speaker’s platform. As I passed each table, more of them saw me and their faces started to light up and they began applauding. By the time I reached the platform, they all had seen me and the applause had become tremendous. “That’s what I dreamed about back there in Times Square.” And, for Jerry Lewis, that more than counterbalances critics’ blasts. The End Next Month’s Cover Girl: LIZ TAYLOR Plus: Mike Todd Talks About Liz NEW! Star Candids We've added tome brand new stars and brand new pictures starting with #248. Chech the list below for your favorites. All handsome 4*5 photos, on glossy stock, just right for framing. Send your order today. PfiSM* *W» CANDIDS 1. Lana Turner 2. Betty Grable 3. Ava Gardner 3. Alan Ladd 6. Tyrone Power 7. Gregory Peck 9. Esther Williams 11. Elisabeth Taylor 14. Cornel Wilde 15. Frank Sinatra 18. Rory Calhoun 19. Peter Lawford 21. Bob Mitchum 22. Burt Lancaster 23. Bing Crosby 25. Dale Evans 27. June AUyson 33. Gene Autry 34. Roy Rogers 35. Sunset Carson 50. Diana Lynn 51. Doris Day 52. Montgomery Clift 53. Richard Widen ark 56. Perry Como 57. Bill Holden 66. Gordon MacRae 67. 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